"...the subject which will be of most importance politically is Mass Psychology. ... The populace will not be allowed to know how its convictions were generated. ... As yet there is only one country which has succeeded in creating this politician’s paradise.” - Bertrand Russell, The Impact of Science on Society, 1960.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Gladio Update: Controversial Writer Poyraz was Paid by Military Intelligence

“ ... 'I am one of the number-one targets and enemies of Gladio. Establishing fake terrorist organizations is a tactic learned by our intelligence units from the CIA and Mossad,' he said. The Ergenekon gang is suspected of functioning similarly to Operation Gladio, a post-World War II NATO operation structured as 'stay behind' paramilitary organizations with the objective of countering a possible Soviet invasion through sabotage and clandestine operations. Many analysts believe Turkey’s shadowy gangs are remnants of the Turkish leg of the actual Gladio. ... "

Controversial Writer Poyraz was Paid by Illegal Military Intelligence

Ergün Poyraz was detained by counterterrorism teams in late July of last year on suspicion of having links to the Association for the Union of Patriotic Forces. A CD seized at the headquarters of the Workers’ Party (İP) during the ongoing Ergenekon investigation has revealed that Ergün Poyraz, a journalist known for his controversial writings, has received payment from the Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counterterrorism Service (JİTEM), the Taraf daily reported on Saturday.

The CD includes five documents regarding payments made to Poyraz, author of The Children of Moses, which features allegations that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ascended to power as part of a “Zionist conspiracy,” by JİTEM, a clandestine organization that is commonly believed to be behind many bombings, attacks and assassinations. The existence of JİTEM is denied by officials.

Poyraz was detained by counterterrorism teams in late July of last year on suspicion of having links to the Association for the Union of Patriotic Forces (VKGB), a gang whose members include retired army officials and which is believed to have connections to not only petty crime but also to acts aimed at stirring political tension and chaos. He was later arrested and put in jail.

The CD in question was seized along with several others during a recent police raid at the headquarters of the İP -- a small neo-nationalist leftist political party that won only a negligible portion of votes in last year’s general elections -- during which party leader Doğu Perinçek was detained.

Perinçek was later arrested for “being a senior member of a terrorist organization and obtaining and possessing classified documents.”

The Ergenekon operation, which was launched last June with the discovery of a house being used as an arms depot in İstanbul, has resulted in the arrest of tens of suspected members of the Ergenekon gang, which is believed to have ties to various individuals and groups within the state bureaucracy and the military. The gang is accused of working to create a chaotic atmosphere in Turkey to prepare the groundwork for a military coup against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

Taraf reported on Saturday that the CD included a file with the name “money received by Ergün Poyraz from JİTEM.” The file included five text documents indicating when Poyraz received the money in question. The names of the officials who made and approved the payments were also included in the documents.

Meanwhile, the Radikal daily said yesterday in its headline story that during police interrogation Perinçek reportedly said some circles were trying to exhaust the Turkish army with ungrounded and nonsensical allegations.

According to Radikal, Perinçek was interrogated about a CD seized from the İP headquarters that included a detailed nine-page document regarding the security protocol for Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt’s protection during one of his previous visits to two western Turkish cities. The document clearly indicated what Büyükanıt would be doing at what time and how he would be protected. Some Turkish newspapers reported that the Ergenekon gang had likely prepared the document in question as part of a plan to assassinate him.

Perinçek, however, reportedly stressed during police interrogation that he is the leader of a political party that fought against terrorists and illegal organizations.

Asked how and for what purpose the İP possessed the CD in question, Perinçek replied he had no knowledge of the CD: “The chief of General Staff knows that the İP has nothing to do with such illegal acts, which would mean treason to our country and nation.”

He also said he met Veli Küçük, a retired general who has been under arrest since Jan. 22 as part of the Ergenekon investigation, only once in a meeting in Cyprus in 2003. “I have not met with him since then,” he noted.

Perinçek stressed that he has penned 38 books and thousands of scholarly articles so far, identifying himself as one of the Turkish academics whose articles are most commonly referenced in the international arena. He also accused those conducting the Ergenekon operation as being spies from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Israel’s Mossad.

“I am one of the number-one targets and enemies of Gladio. Establishing fake terrorist organizations is a tactic learned by our intelligence units from the CIA and Mossad,” he said.

The Ergenekon gang is suspected of functioning similarly to Operation Gladio, a post-World War II NATO operation structured as “stay behind” paramilitary organizations with the objective of countering a possible Soviet invasion through sabotage and clandestine operations. Many analysts believe Turkey’s shadowy gangs are remnants of the Turkish leg of the actual Gladio.